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Hasbro Games has a marketing message for parents this spring: "Think outside the basket" and consider nonedible Easter treats like the company's Candyland or other classic games. While Hasbro is viewing Easter as a second important selling season after Christmas, some groups are decrying the secularization of another religious holiday.

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Some Stamford, Conn., parents of students with special needs are filing a civil rights complaint against their district over proposed cuts to special-education staff. Officials say the cuts would bring student-teacher ratios in line with those of other urban districts. However, parents say the cuts disproportionately affect special-education programs, which already are struggling to meet students' needs. "When you can't meet the simplest of demands now, what makes you think can meet those demands later with these cuts?" one parent said.

Changes to a Missouri school district's math classes have some parents worried that students who are gifted could get shortchanged in instruction. Central Middle School has decided to no longer group students by ability, a move Principal Mark Kiehne said was premature at the fifth- and sixth-grade levels. "I believe all kids need to be taught to their level, whatever that is," countered one parent at a recent school board meeting.

Some Palm Beach County, Fla., parents oppose a new homework policy for elementary-school students that sets limits of one hour daily for third-graders and 90 minutes for fourth- and fifth-graders. Some parents and school board members argue that the national standard of 10 minutes per grade level is sufficient. They say officials should maintain that level until there is proof that more homework would benefit students.

Parents and advocates of students who cannot hear and see say they are disappointed with changes made to a bill regarding Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind that they they say do not go far enough in helping the students who could most benefit. Under the bill, enrollment in those schools would be open to more students -- not just those with the most needs -- and the bill does not address parents' desires for additional classroom technology and improvements.

Hasbro Games has a marketing message for parents this spring: "Think outside the basket" and consider nonedible Easter treats like the company's Candyland or other classic games. While Hasbro is viewing Easter as a second important selling season after Christmas, some groups are decrying the secularization of another religious holiday.